Do you believe that?
by michaelscarn
Summary: M/R Strange yet oddly familiar things are happening in Quantico, Virginia
1. It was all

JJ barrelled into the conference room carrying a stack of case files with both arms, and dropped them the onto the table in the center of the room, where the rest of the team, already seated, talked quietly to one another. She kept her eyes from meeting any of theirs, and moved to near the wall-mounted screen, as Hotch pulled the dropped files to him and passed them to the team.

"Sorry for making you wait" she said. "This case is…" she paused, "unusual. The county sheriff's office has called us in."

Each team member opened his file folder while JJ waited for Garcia, who soon walked in with her laptop, taking a seat at the table and clicking the remote for the tv screen. Soon, images appeared on the screen and the team stopped reading to look at them.

There were three pictures of women's bodies. Each was unmistakably dead. They were all white, but the pictures had been taken some time after their death, so their skin had a blueish tint. Each was wearing pajamas. Each had been thrown away in the dirt.

JJ spoke as Garcia continued to add women to the screen. "Three women have been found in forested areas in a nearby county. There's no apparent cause of death. No gunshot wounds, no stab wounds, no trauma of any kind. A fourth victim was found today. The sheriff there has asked for our help."

Reid made a small "hmm" while mind started to work, thinking of connections to other cases and causes and people who had a similar M.O's.

JJ continued. "The only marks on the bodies have been what look like mosquito bites. The medical examiner has also found some painkillers in their systems, and an unidentified protein."

"Well, that's not much to go on," Morgan said.

"Perhaps the 'bites' were the points of injection?" Prentiss added.

"Most likely. The women were all white, mid twenties. At least we know his type," Reid added. "A protein and painkillers probably wouldn't cause death, though."

It was quiet for a moment. Then, Rossi sighed and his eyes tightened. He leaned back in his chair and stared down into the surface of the table.

"Does this look familiar?" Hotch asked Rossi.

Rossi was quiet with thinking, not looking at anyone. His brow was furrowed, remembering. Finally, he asked, "Have any foreign objects been found in the bodies?"

"Not that I know of," JJ replied. "I can ask the medical examiner to check again."

"Ask them to check the nasal cavities," Rossi said.

Hotch watched Rossi, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm not sure about anything yet. Let's wait to hear from the M.E." Rossi said.

He nodded to Rossi and moved from the table to stand. "Let's head over to the police station to see what they've got on the case. Morgan, you and Reid should head over to the latest crime scene."

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Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Prentiss went to the police headquarters in a small town near Washington D. C. A police officer met them when they walked in.

"Hello. I'm Deputy Walker."  
"Hi, I'm Special Agent Jennifer Jareau." JJ shook his hand, then turned to introduce the others. "This is SSA Hotchner, SSA Rossi, and Agent Prentiss."

Deputy Walker nodded in their direction. "Let me introduce you to the sheriff."

The team followed the deputy through the small office. It was carpeted, and the walls were covered with wood paneling. There were few windows and the small space was filled with furniture bigger than the space could handle. There were only about six desks, but each was only inches apart from the next.

"This is the sheriff's first big case here," the deputy said while weaving them through the furniture that filled the small room. "He's just moved here from the pacific northwest."

He led them to a conference room in the back corner and opened the door. They could see the sheriff standing over a large table in the middle of the room. He was flipping through a case file.

"Sheriff?" the deputy called. "This is the FBI team."

Hotch walked passed the deputy to the sheriff and offered his hand. "Aaron Hotchner."

They shook hands, and the sheriff nodded to the others. "Sheriff Harry S. Truman. I'm sorry to have to meet you under the circumstances. I knew I needed another set of eyes on this case."  
"That's quite alright," Hotch said. "It's what we do."

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Morgan and Reid arrived at the crime scene for the latest victim. Her name was Margaret Smith. She was 24 years old. Brunette. Small. Attractive.

They walked up to the police tape, ducking beneath it to enter the crime scene. There were two officers there to meet them.

Reid spoke to the officers first.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI. This is Special Agent Derek Morgan."

They both flashed their credentials.

"I'm Deputy Whitmore. This is Deputy Gomez."

Reid gave them a straight smile. "Mind if we take a look?" He nodded to a blanket lying on the ground nearby.

The deputy nodded and Reid and Morgan walked to where the body lay covered by a sheet. They both squatted to examine her.

Reid lifted the sheet and spoke quietly to himself, taking mental notes. Morgan started looking in the dirt next to the woman.

"This dirt seems different than the rest. Almost sand-like," Morgan said. After pulling on a latex glove, he picked up a handful and poured it into an evidence bag.

"Hm, you're right," Reid replied. He stood.

"This victim is like the rest. No apparent wounds, except for the bite marks on her lower back. We'll have to wait for the medical examiner to find out if Rossi was right."

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Prentiss, Hotch, and Rossi had set up boards in the conference room. One for each victim. The table was filled with boxes with the evidence that the other police departments had collected on the cases.

JJ walked in. "I've contacted the medical examiners and they're going to recheck the bodies."

Rossi nodded but didn't say anything. He continued to look through the casefiles.

Hotch looked to Rossi and sighed. "Rossi, care to elaborate on this hunch?"

"Not yet. Hopefully they don't find anything. If they do, this case got a lot more complicated." Rossi put the casefile down and walked out of the room.

Prentiss looked to Hotch, who turned from her and sighed before pulling another box of case files to him.

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About an hour later JJ received a phone call.

Rossi looked up but couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Mmhmm. Thank you." She hung up the phone. "That was the medical examiner. He didn't find any objects in the victim's nose, but he did a swab and found traces of metal."

Rossi stared at her and then looked away. He didn't meet anyone's eyes for a moment but the rest of the team was staring at him.

"I don't think this is a first timer," he finally said. "And I think we might need to call another agent in on this case."

Hotch, Prentiss, and JJ waited for him to elaborate.

Finally Hotch spoke. "Well, ok. Let's call him."

Rossi sighed before speaking softly, almost to himself. "The problem is, how do we find him?"


	2. Chapter 2

Reid and Morgan had left the crime scene of the latest victim to examine the spots where the other bodies had been dumped. At each spot, they found the same sand-like substance.

Reid called Hotch to check in. "Hotch wants us back at the station," he said to Morgan. "He said he'd like us to send the samples to Quantico rather than have it tested here."

Morgan nodded and began walking to the car. He searched his pockets for his keys.

Reid laughed. "Looking for these?" he called.

Morgan turned around. Reid was holding the keys in the air and shaking them at Morgan.

"I do not trust your driving," Morgan said.

"At least I don't 'vibe it'," Reid laughed and moved his hand tighter on the keys.

"That's the problem! You have no instincts." Morgan took a step toward Reid. "Come on, let me have the keys, Pretty Boy."

Reid was smiling but gripped the keys tightly. "Hmmm, I _really_ want to drive, though."

Morgan laughed. "I can't let you do that."

For a moment they stood there, looking at the other. Reid was smiling, almost laughing. Morgan looked into Reid's brown eyes. It wasn't often he got to see them without Reid quickly looking away. They seemed lighter than usual. Softer. Morgan's lips curled up in a smile, too, but neither of them backed down. Reid smile widened. Then he softly bit down on his lower lip. Still looking into Morgan's eyes, Reid dropped his arm and slid his hand into Morgan's. For a few seconds, he held Morgan's fingers in his own with the keys sitting between their palms.

"You win this time," Reid whispered, and handed Morgan the keys. He moved around Morgan and walked toward the SUV.

Morgan turned to watch Reid enter the SUV. His hand was still tingling from where Reid held it.

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The team regrouped at the sheriff's station. Reid talked to Hotch about the crime scenes and Morgan joined the others, looking through the files. After about ten minutes, Hotch told the team to pack up and asked everyone to meet in the morning at the sheriff's office. Rossi, Prentiss, JJ, Morgan, and Reid all started to pack the boxes.

After Rossi had told the team about the mysterious agent, he hadn't said much else. Hotch knew they were pressed for time and needed to know if there were similar cases at the FBI. He stepped out of the room and walked out to the common area. He noticed a door along the back wall that let to a small courtyard. Outside, he took his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed the BAU.

"I thought you might have forgotten me."

"Garcia, we're going to call it a night. You can go home, too."

"Alrighty, mon amie."

"Garcia, there's something I need you to do for me in the morning."

"Ok, do you want to just call me then?"

"No, make yourself a note. I don't want the rest of the team to know. And I need it early."

"Uh."

"I'm sorry to ask, Garcia. I need you to check the FBI database for cases where women were killed and something metallic was found in their noses."

"Ok, but I did an initial search of our database when we first got this case, and..."

"Search all of the archives. Even the files that haven't been digitized. And please make sure you search for the detail about the metal in the nasal cavity. Please, Garcia."

"Um," she paused. "Ok. I'll give you a call in the morning."

"Thank you." Hotch hung up his phone and walked back inside. Rossi was looking at him from the conference room. He noticed as Hotch quickly looked to the phone in his hand and put it back in his pocket.

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The next morning they met at the station. Reid began working on the geographic profile. Morgan and Prentiss left to meet with the family members of the victims. Rossi walked over to Hotch.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Hotch said, leading them both out to a corner in the common area.

"I'm sorry I didn't explain yesterday. I have seen cases like the ones we're working on. After we talked I tried calling other agents from the FBI. The guy we need is going to be hard to find."

Hotch nodded. "I'll need the details of those cases."

"I'm not sure where they are. I only know the details through word of mouth. Gossip. But I know this agent will have seen something like this case. I know he'll be able to help us. He was once considered the best profiler we had."

"You're not talking about Gideon, are you?" Hotch looked confused.

Rossi laughed a little. "Gideon would be easier to find than this guy. I thought the casefiles would have come up in Garcia's search, but they must not have been digitized. I'll need to go to Quantico to ask Strauss if she can help find him."

Hotch thought for a moment. "I'll have Garcia look through the archives to see if she can find similar cases. If Strauss can't help, I'll need you back here."

Rossi nodded, then turned and walked out.

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Later that morning, Garcia called Hotch.

"Hotchner"

"Hi!" She was talking faster than usual. "I've double checked all our digital records and didn't fit anything you were talking about, so I went to see about all the records that haven't been digitized. I found out that most of the files are on our database."

"Hm," Hotch replied.

"But…I talked to another agent that heard there's one room of files that hasn't been touched in years, and every time someone puts in a request to have these files digitized the request is rejected."

"Are there records of this?"

"That's the thing," she went on. "There is only one official memo about these records and it is hand signed by an S-k-i-something. I couldn't read all of the signature. So I went to look for the storage space and it's all the way down in the basement."

"Were there files inside?"

"It's locked."

"Hm, well, thank you for looking, Garcia. I need you back at your desk for now. Morgan and Prentiss should be calling you with more information."

Garcia was a little disappointed that Hotch didn't seem as interested in this room as she was, and that she couldn't find someone to unlock this door. "No problem," she said.

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Garcia made her way to the elevator at the end of the hall. She had hoped that Hotch would have taken interest in the room and would call in some favors to see what was inside, but she was also glad to get back to her nook. When the elevator doors opened to the floor of the BAU, she thought she saw Rossi walking toward the director's offices, but the figure turned the corner before she was sure.

She climbed the stairs back to her office and right as she sat down her phone began ringing. She checked the caller-id before answering.

"Hello my dark-chocolate god"

Morgan smiled on the other end. "Hello, baby girl."

"What can I do for you?"

"I need you to search similar cases as this one but on the other side of the country. All of the relatives said they used to live in either Washington or Oregon. It's the only connection we can find so far."

"I'm on it. Garcia out." She hung up the phone with the end of her ribbon-wrapped pen and began to type furiously.

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Rossi was looking at Strauss's cold face pleadingly.

"I wouldn't ask if we had any choice. Four girls are dead."

Strauss dropped her gaze. "I don't know where he is."

"Please."

Strauss turned around and reached up to a plant sitting on a book stand behind her. She reached behind the plant and Rossi heard a click. Then a small red light he hadn't noticed before faded.

"You'll need to find his old partner. I don't know him, but I know they were close. He will know how to find him."

"Is his partner still with the FBI?" Rossi asked.

"Yes, but he's undercover. You'll have to have Garcia help you. I'll give you his name."

"Do you know where he is?"

She shook her head.

"He had a medical background and I think he's working at a psychiatrist now," she said.

Strauss wrote a name on a small piece of paper. She handed it to Rossi. Before she let go, she said "You didn't get this from me."


	3. Chapter 3

Hotch was with JJ and Reid at the sheriff's office. His phone rang and he quickly looked at the caller-id before picking up.

"Hotchner"

"Hotch, it's Rossi."

"What have you found out?"

"Garcia helped me and we've found his partner. Sort of. Strauss thinks his partner can help us."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?"

"We don't have his first name. His FBI files have been tampered with. There is a lot of information that has been blacked out. He's working undercover, but I have an address."

"And you're positive this guy can help us?"

"Yes, I wasn't sure before, but I know I've seen this victimology."

"Where is his partner?"

"Minnesota."

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Hotch walked into the conference room where the others were working. Morgan and Prentiss had returned and were looking at the boards with Reid.

"I'm going to need leave for a bit."

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Hotch. The room was silent.

"Is everything ok?" Prentiss asked finally.

"Yes, but Rossi and I have a new lead we need to follow. We are going to Minnesota for a bit."

"Hotch, I don't think this is a great time. We still don't have much to go on, and we're struggling."

"I understand. I trust you to get through it and continue with the investigation. Morgan, you're in charge while we're gone."

Reid looked to the other three. The team was still hesitant, but Hotch's voice was final.

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Morgan and the team had spent the entire day reading the case files, calling the relatives of the victims, and waiting for lab results. Late into the night, the sheriff walked in to the conference room.

"You folks ok in here?"

Morgan looked up. "Yeah, sorry. I know it's late." He looked at the rest of his team. They were tired. Reid was leaning back reading a case file, trying not to let his eyes close.

"Let's find a nearby hotel, guys. It's an hour back to Quantico, and I'd rather be close so we can get here early."

"I know a little hotel not too far from here," the sheriff offered.

Morgan smiled at him. "Thanks."

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They drove the two SUVs down the street, following the directions the sheriff gave them. Morgan drove the first SUV with Prentiss following in the other. He led the small convoy to the hotel, which was situated on the left side of the road. It was very close to the sheriff's office, but it was small and run down with a neon 'vacancy' sign out front. It was the sole lit building on the street. On the opposite side of the street from the hotel was a wooded area. Tall pines stood as a fence lining the street. Only blackness was visible beyond the first row of trees.

Morgan and Prentiss walked into the office. They were able to rent four rooms, and each of the agents collected their room keys and quickly grabbed their go-bag from the cars and shuffled to their room to fall asleep.

Morgan unlocked the door and walked into his room. There was not much to it; a small bed, a nightstand with an alarm clock, a tube tv, and a bathroom in the corner. He was too tired to change. He fell on top of his bed, on top of the blankets, and fell asleep.

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He woke to fast and loud knocking at his door. He raised his head to see the time on the alarm clock but it was off. There was no light coming in from the window or door cracks.

"Derek" he heard someone say. Then they knocked again, faster and louder.

Morgan got up from the bed and went to the door.

"Who is it?"

"Spencer. Please. Let me in."

Derek opened the door. Spencer was in sweats. He looked nervously at Derek.

"I'm sorry I woke you up. The power went out."

Derek was still waking up. He looked at Spencer again and stepped out of the doorway to let him inside.

"I really don't like the dark. I'm sorry to bother you."

Derek smiled tiredly at him. "You're not bothering me. What time is it?"

"12:45."

"Wow. It feels like I've been asleep for more than 45 minutes."

Spencer looked around the room. It was almost completely dark.

"Do you want to sit down?"

Spencer nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked down to his hands and started tracing the joints of each finger with the index finger of his other hand.

Derek stepped around him and sat down next to him. He watched Spencer play with his hands for a few minutes. Neither of them spoke.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Spencer whispered.

Derek was looking at Reid, who was still looking at his hands.

"You're not bothering me," Derek whispered back to him, nudging Spencer with his shoulder.

Spencer lifted his head to look at Derek. He smiled and then looked back to his hands.

Derek waited a moment and then touched Spencer's hand. Slowly, he moved his hand to hold Spencer's hand in his. He held his hand there for a moment. Morgan could see Spencer breathing in long, slow breaths.

Derek moved his hand again, moving his fingers in between Spencer's and interlocking their hands. He could feel Spencer's muscles tense and his breathing was getting longer and slower.

"Still nervous?" Derek asked.

Spencer didn't look up. He nodded slowly and bit his lower lip. Derek tried moving his hand away, but Spencer's grip tightened.

They sat there for a moment in silence, testing this new boundary they'd found. Then Spencer lifted his head to look at Derek. Even in the dark, Derek could see him blush.

Derek moved his other hand to Spencer's face and brushed some of his hair to the side. Spencer was looking at Derek's face now, watching him. He brushed the side of Spencers face with his thumb, slowly and softly, back and forth. Derek traced his ear and rested his hand beneath his jaw. Spencer closed his eyes and leaned his head into Derek's hand.

"Still nervous?" Derek whispered.

Spencer still had his eyes closed. Slowly he shook his head. His lips stretched into a smile.

Derek moved his hand behind Spencer's neck, and pulled Spencer's head toward him until their foreheads were touching. Spencer softly moaned. Derek rubbed his cheek on Spencer's, and, then, for a moment in the dark, their eyes met, and Derek slowly moved his mouth toward Spencer's.

Suddenly, as Derek neared Spencer, the lights turned on.


	4. Chapter 4

Hotch and Rossi had boarded the private jet the FBI held for the BAU. During the flight, Rossi looked out the window, worried.

"So what do you know about this agent?" Hotch asked.

Rossi looked up at Hotch and shook his head.

"Not much. He was a profiler. A great one. Graduated from Oxford. A few years into his career he started working on pet projects. Agents started talking about him, called him 'Spooky.'"

"But you trust him?"

Rossi thought about it for a moment. "I know he can help us."

Hotch nodded and the small room went quiet.

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Reid awoke on his own bed. His thoughts went back to the night before.

After the lights at the hotel had come back on, Reid flushed so brightly that Derek laughed, and Reid had jolted up from Derek's bed.

Without looking at him, Reid said "Thank you for letting me stay." In a quick movement Reid turned, opened the door, and walked down the hallway toward his room. Before he had gotten too far, he thought he heard Derek say "Don't."

It was now 6:00 a.m.

He got up and took a shower. At 7:00, Reid walked to Emily's room. Before he could knock, Prentiss opened the door.

"Oh! Reid. You startled me."

"Sorry, I was coming to see if you were up."

"Yeah. Actually, it's good you're here. I just got a text from Morgan. There's been another murder. He wants us to check out the crime scene."

Reid nodded and then took his phone from the pocket of his satchel. No messages. He wondered why Derek hadn't texted him, too.

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Prentiss and Reid took one of the SUVs to the crime scene. The same forested area as the others. Again they found the same sand-like substance near the body. The woman was early 20's. No apparent trauma. Raised bumps on her skin.

"Have the lab results found substances in their systems?" Reid asked Prentiss.

"JJ said there were some painkillers, and an unknown substance. A protein of somesort."

"This case is just getting more confusing."

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Rossi and Hotch touched down in Minnesota and rented a car from the airport. Rossi looked out the window as Hotch drove. Everything was spread far apart. There were few buildings, but lots of trees, even when they reached downtown. They passed through the main part of the town and continued a couple of minutes to a residential neighborhood. The houses were big, two story mansions.

"We're close" Rossi said to Hotch.

"Here." He pointed to a house at the end of the street, right before the neighborhood opened up again to another shopping center.

The men parked on the street and walked up to the house. There was a sign near the door.

Dr. Du Maurier

Psychiatrist

Hotch used the buzzer on the wall near the door.

"Dr. Du Maurier's office"

"This is SSA Hotchner. I'm here with my partner. We need to see Dr. Du Maurier."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No. This is urgent."

"One moment."

A short time later the door was unlocked. A blonde women of 24 or 25 years opened the door.

"Hello. Dr. Du Maurier agreed to see you. I'll led you to her office."

"Thank you," Hotch answered.

The house was painted in light colors, blues and pastel yellow. There were ceiling to floor length curtains on the windows. The furniture looked expensive and untouched.

The women led them to a room at the end of a hallway off the main corridor. She knocked once then opened the door. The woman moved out of the way to let the agents enter.

Dr. Du Maurier was not what Rossi expected. Thin, tall, female. Strauss hadn't specified a gender for the agent, and he had just assumed they were looking for a man. Her hair was long and blonde.

She stood from her desk to greet them. "Hello"

"Hello. I'm SSA Hotchner. This is SSA Rossi."

She nodded, realizing she didn't have to use her cover anymore.

"Is this about my assignment?"

"No" Rossi answered. "We have a favor to ask of you."

She looked confused.

"I'm in the middle of an investigation. I have a lot on my plate right now."  
"This is about your old partner."

She tensed.

"We need to know where he is."

"I haven't seen him in some time." She didn't meet the agent's eyes.

"We have a case and we need his help."

She seemed a little more at ease.

"What's the case?"

Rossi answered, "Young women are dying in forested areas. No known cause of death. Two bumps found on each body."

She paused and took a deep breath. "Has anything been found in their nasal cavities?"

Hotch was surprised by the quick response.

"Traces of metal," Rossi answered.

"We'll need a plane," she said. And with this, the agent grabbed her coat and walked out of the office.

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While in the private jet, Rossi seemed interested in getting more answers about their mystery agent.

"When was the last time you've seen your partner?"

She looked a little uncomfortable.

"We, uh, separated about 6 months ago. I went back to the FBI after."

Rossi nodded, taking the hint.

"What are you investigating here?"

"A potential serial killer."

"Any luck?"

"I have a few ideas."

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After landing, Hotch wanted to check in with the rest of the team. He waited for Rossi to bring a car for them.

"I'm going to make a phone call. I'll just be a minute."

The doctor nodded at him.

He dialed Morgan's cell.

"Morgan."

"How is the investigation?"

"Slow. We've had another murder. No leads though."

"Rossi and I are back in Virginia. We shouldn't be much longer."

"Good. We could use you here."

"I'll try to be as fast as possible."

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The trio rode in the SUV with the doctor driving. They drove out of out of Quantico to rural Virginia. After about 20 minutes of driving, the doctor turned onto a gravelly road. She drove up to a fence. About 100 feet beyond the fence, they could see a two-story house.

She got out of the car and went to the fence. She pulled a key chain from her coat pocket and unlocked the gate, then she walked back to the car and drove to the house.

All three of the agents got out of the car. She walked to the front door ahead of the others. Once again she pulled the key chain from her coat pocket and unlocked the front door.

She walked through, turning on the living room lights.

"He'll be in the basement."

"Don't you want to go first?" Rossi asked her.

She shook her head.

They walked to the stairs. Rossi went first with Hotch and the doctor following. Rossi stopped at the bottom. The room was covered in newspaper clippings. At the opposite wall sat a desk. A man was standing at the desk. He was unshaven and unkempt. He wore a big, green jacket. Behind him, on the only part of the wall not covered by newspaper was a poster.

Rossi stepped into the room further.

"My name is SSA Rossi"

"How did you get here?"

Hotch walked in the room.

"What do you want?"

"We need your help on a case." Rossi continued.

The man looked at the agents. The doctor reached the last stair and walked next to Rossi.

The man looked at her. His lips parted slightly, his eyes widened.

"Scully," he whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

Reid and Prentiss went back to the sheriff's station to meet with the others. Derek sat on a small couch in the conference room. He was sitting with a casefile, running a hand over his head. He sighed to himself.

_He didn't make eye contact, _Reid noticed.

"How was the crime scene?" Derek asked Prentiss.

"Same guy. That's for sure. We have another sample of the sand-like material."

Derek nodded. "We have some of the initial lab work back from the Quantico labs. There is an organic protein found in all of the bodies, but it has yet to be identified."

"There's no link other than the fact that all of the victims at one time lived on the other side of the country," JJ added. "The initial suspect pool that the sheriff identified has all been killed off."

"Could the fact that all of the victims lived on the west coast be a coincidence?" Prentiss asked Reid.

Reid was staring at the couch.

"Reid?" Prentiss said again.

"Hmm?"

"Could the fact that all of the victims lived on the west coast be a coincidence?"

"I guess...Sure." Reid walked around the conference table and sat at the head of the table, the place furthest from the couch. He opened a casefile that had been sitting on the table, and began reading silently to himself.

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Derek's stomach dropped when Prentiss and Reid walked into the room. He quickly looked at his casefile, looking but not reading.

"How was the crime scene?" he asked.

He heard Prentiss's answer but tried to look up as little as possible. When she stopped talking his eyes dropped back to the casefile. He could see from the corner of his eye that Reid had moved to sit at the table. The room fell silent.

Derek felt tense; he needed to clear his head.

"I'm going to the courtyard for a few minutes."

He walked through the conference room and the common area to the back door of the office. The air was cool and the sky was grey and covered in low-hanging clouds. His stomach was turning.

_I should be worried about the case. _

Since the night before, Derek couldn't stop thinking of Reid in his hotel room. He felt their hands touching again, remembering the feeling of his skin, soft and smooth. He could feel Spencer's breath on his lips again, and its warmth, and the goosebumps that raised on his skin as the two men grew closer. And he remembered the sinking feeling when the lights turned back on, and heat from Spencer's cheeks as they flushed with embarrassment, knowing Spencer would get up to leave without letting him explain.

_Nothing will be the same between us._

Lost in thought, he didn't hear as the back door opened behind him, or the footsteps that brought someone near him, or when they finally stopped beside him. What jolted him back to the present was the hand that slipped into his, and the feeling of the skin on his hand that he remembered from the night before.

He looked down to see Spencer, smiling shyly.

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"They need our help," the doctor told him.

The man with the beard looked at her for a moment. Sensing he was safe, he held his hand to Rossi.  
"Fox Mulder."

Rossi took the man's hand. "SSA Dave Rossi. This is SSA Aaron Hotchner."

The man shook Hotch's hand. "What is the case?"

Rossi explained to Mulder the details of the case as the other three in the room were silent, listening. Mulder looked ahead of him in space as Rossi talked, nodding every few words as if he knew they were going to be said. When Rossi finished the four of them stood silent. Rossi and Hotch looked at Mulder for his reaction.

For a moment Mulder sat staring, saying nothing. Rossi turned to Agent Scully, who stood waiting patiently. She knew what would happen.

"I'll go with you," Mulder finally said.

Rossi nodded and looked to Hotch. Neither man seemed relieved, though this was good for the case. Instead, each of them looked at the other and recognized the concern in the other's face.

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Mulder smiled to himself as he saw the agents exchange glances. He knew that face well. They were concerned about his unconventiality. Other agents, friends, even Scully had all worn that face around him before.

The four of them left the house and packed into the FBI SUV the three agents had driven here.

"They've really changed things since I've left," Mulder said and pointing to the car. He remembered the sedans that the FBI would issue him.

He saw Scully smile to herself.

In the car, Mulder watched the two men in the front, who seemed to be getting more uncomfortable. He took a bag from his pocket.

"Sunflower seeds?" He held the bag to the men in the front seats.

Hotch shook his head.

"No, thanks," Rossi said.

Again, the two men exchanged glances.

Mulder turned to offer Scully the bag of seeds. She shook her head. "What have you done to your hair?" he asked her.

She looked to him and frowned, and moved her hair to sit on the shoulder furthest from him.

"So, uh, what do you know about this kind of thing?" Rossi asked him.

Mulder popped some seeds into his mouth. He chewed and spit the shells back into his hand.

"I know you're not dealing with a typical suspect," Mulder said.

"Were you able to catch the guy in the last case? Could this be the same guy?" Rossi pushed.

Mulder laughed to himself and looked out of the window.

"You won't catch them. You can't catch them."

"Them? We should be looking for a group?"

"Try a species."

Rossi furrowed his brow and stared into the rear-view mirror at the former agent.

"Please don't tell me this is a waste of time. Are you going to help us or not?"

He sighed and met Rossi's gaze in the mirror. "I know how to stop them. I know what they want."


	6. Chapter 6

"What are you doing out here?"  
The younger man breathed in deeply. "I, uh, just wanted to make sure that you were ok."

The older man looked to the younger man. There was a short, silent pause. "Listen, about last night. I'm sorry if I went too far."

The younger man shook his head.

"Are you ok?"

The younger man nodded.

"We should get back inside."

"Wait." The young man was avoiding his eyes.

"What is it?"

He paused. "I wanted it, too." He closed his eyes. The older man watched as the younger man took in a long, steadying breath.

Derek took a step toward Spencer. He could feel Spencer's nervousness. There was a pulse between them. Each of them breathed slow, long breaths. Spencer didn't open his eyes. For a moment they stood still.

"Spencer."

The younger man buried his face in his hands.

"Spencer," Derek whispered. He moved even closer to him until they could feel the warmth of the other's body. Spencer's skin started to burn faintly. Derek moved his hands slowly to Spencer's waist and slid them behind his back and pulled their bodies together.

Spencer opened his eyes and looked at Derek.

"Is this what you wanted?" he asked Spencer.

Spencer's breathing became deeper, longer. He looked into Derek's eyes and nodded, smiling slightly.

Derek leaned closer to Spencer. Their cheeks brushed together. Derek softly kissed Spencer's earlobe.

"Is this what you wanted?"

Again, Spencer nodded.

Derek smiled and Spencer could feel his lips brush his cheek. Derek moved his lips along Spencer's jaw and kissed the soft spots of Spencer's cheek. Spencer's breathing was growing faster.

Slowly, Derek raised his head and looked at Spencer. He moved his head toward Spencer and gave him a soft, slow kiss.

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Prentiss was looking through a case file when her cell phone rang. She saw it was Hotch.

"Prentiss" she answered.

"I wanted to let you know we're on our way back with some people that might be able to help us."

"Great. We could use the help."

"I tried calling Morgan but no one answered. Everything ok there?"

"Yeah, he went for a walk a minute ago. I'm sure he'll be back soon."  
"Keep me updated."

Prentiss hung up the phone and decided she would find Morgan to tell him about Hotch and Rossi. She walked to the common area and to the back door. As she opened the door, she could hear movement.

"Morgan?"

She looked into the courtyard and saw Morgan and Reid standing close to one another. Reid looked at her with big eyes. Both seemed to be breathing heavily. Morgan was looking at the ground, his arms akimbo.

"Oh. Hi Reid."

Reid coughed and shot past her into the sheriff's office.

"Did I disrupt something?"

Morgan finally looked at her. "Uh, nope. What's up?"

"Hotch just called. He said he and Rossi found the guy and are headed back here."

"Great. I'll be in the conference room in a sec."

Prentiss nodded her head and closed the door again. She walked back to the conference room. Reid had sat back at the head of the table, reading a case file.

"Are you ok, Reid?"

"Mmhmm," he hummed to her without looking up.

"You looked a little flustered when I opened the door."

"Nope." Again, he didn't look up to her.

"Were you two.."  
"We weren't doing anything!" Spencer's voice was a little too loud for the small room. JJ was staring at him. Prentiss was smiling now.

"You were," she said, more to herself than anyone in the room. "About fucking time," she added.

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Hotch, Rossi, Scully, and Mulder pulled up to the sheriff's office. The two men led Mulder and Scully inside and to the conference room.

"Everyone," Rossi said. "Let me introduce you to Special Agent Dana Scully and Fox Mulder."

"Mulder is fine," Mulder said to the group.

The team looked up at the pair as Rossi introduced them. Reid nodded. Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ got up to shake the hands with them.

"I'd like to see the first crime scene," Mulder said.

"We've been to the scene twice," Reid said. "We've taken samples. There's nothing we didn't cover."

Mulder eyed Reid. He smirked. "This case is a repeat of one I worked years ago in Oregon. We're not dealing with your normal suspects. They won't stop until they get what they want."

Reid looked uncomfortable. "Which is?"

"A test subject."

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The group took two cars to the crime scene. Hotch drove the sheriff, Reid, and Prentiss. The others drove in another SUV. They gathered at the police tape to wait for Mulder's first move.

The sheriff walked beside Hotch. "I've seen that guy before," he said while pointing toward Mulder.

"Helped you with a case?"

The sheriff shook his head. "He wasn't FBI at the time. He was DEA. And he looked a lot different than that."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, for one, he was wearing a skirt and going by 'Denise'"

Hotch stared at the sheriff for a moment before looking back to Mulder, keeping quiet.

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He stood there. Scully stood beside him.

"I have to do this," he said to her.

"Mulder, don't you think we can fight this?"

"I've fought this for years, Scully. I need this to end. For my sister and all the other victims. For you." He ducked his head under the police tape, and slowly the rest of the agents followed.

Scully stopped a few feet from the middle of the scene. The rest of the agents stopped with her. They formed a semicircle and watched Mulder continue walking to the center, where the trees tops had formed a clearing, showing the night sky above.

"I can't go with you," she yelled to him. The wind was picking up.

"I know," Mulder yelled back to her. He looked at her face. Their eyes met for a long while.

The wind picked up even more now. It seemed to be spinning in all directions. The leaves from the trees were spinning with the wind around the group.

Reid stood next to Morgan. They looked at one another, both worried. Morgan grabbed his hand.

A white light flashed down into the clearing. Only Mulder's silhouette was visible now. He was covering his brow to shield his eyes.

Scully walked forward. She looked back to the group. Rossi looked at her, concerned.

She turned back around to face Mulder. She ran up to him. Now both were silhouettes in the light.

He looked down to her.

"We've been partners all this time," she said to him.

He smiled at her, grabbing her hand.

Suddenly, as the group watched the two black figures in the light, there was a flash. When the group looked up again, the two were gone.

Shock filled the small area. _What happened? Where did they go?_

The team members started looking between them, checking to see if everyone was there.

Emily sighed with relief when she saw JJ. JJ did the same when she saw Rossi and Hotch. It was Morgan who went cold. Standing there in the dark clearing, he realized that the hand that had held his was missing.


	7. Chapter 7

Morgan spun around looking into the dense of trees beyond the clearing. _Maybe he ran from the light. Maybe he's hiding._

But beyond the crime tape there was nothing. The forest was quiet. Still. The leaves that had floated in the wind a moment ago were now dead at this feet.

JJ, Prentiss, Rossi, and Hotch were saying something to each other. It all sounded muffled to Morgan. He looked down to his hands. Moments ago they were tightly wound with Reid's, and now, he was gone. Morgan dropped to his knees. Blood rushed to his head. Spots of white crept into his peripheral vision and his chest pulled shallow, too-fast breaths. And then, it all turned to black.

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"Get him!" Hotch was pointing to Morgan, who was now lying on the ground. Hotch already had his phone out, dialing a number.

"Garcia"

"I need you to trace Reid's phone. He is missing."

"Oh my god. Hold on."

Hotch heard her fingers on the keyboard. Each tap echoed in Hotch's ear.

"There's nothing. It must be dead"

The last word seemed to hang in the air for a moment.

"Keep an eye out and see if it turns back on." He hung up the phone.

JJ and Prentiss had roused Morgan. Rossi was waiting for Hotch to walk over.

"Did Garcia find anything?"

Hotch shook his head. The men turned their attention to the now-conscience Morgan.

"Did you see him move?" JJ asked him.

Morgan shook his head.

"I've looked around the area. There's nothing in the forest." Rossi added.

"What was that?" JJ was looking to Hotch for answers.

"I don't know."

"Where did they all go?"

"No one can just disappear like that." Prentiss said.

"I don't know."

"Maybe we should get the K-9s out here."

"We would have seen them run into the forest."

"I don't get it."

"I don't know."

"The light was blinding. Maybe they ran after the flash."

"There wasn't enough time."

"Well, no one can just disappear like that."

Morgan rose to his feet and the rest of them stopped talking to watch him.

"He didn't run," he said. "He evaporated." He was not talking to any of them.

They stared at Morgan, staying silent.

"He turned into air," he continued.

"You're still in shock," JJ moved her hand up to his shoulder.

"I'm not. He just...evaporated."

JJ turned to Hotch. He was staring at Morgan.

"Prentiss call for the paramedics."

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Morgan sat quietly while one of the EMTs checked his heart rate.

"Are you having trouble seeing?"

He shook his head.

"Everything seems to be fine," she told him.

Morgan nodded. "Thanks," he told her.

But he knew it wasn't a hallucination. He knew what he felt. He didn't believe it at first, either, but now he was sure. He felt Spencer's hand in his. He felt as his hand started to feel lighter, almost like he was holding a gust of wind in his palm. The flash had taken him away, just like the others.

Hotch walked over to Morgan.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Have the K-9s found anything?"

Hotch shook his head.

"I think you should go back to the hotel. We'll take over from here for now."

"No I want to stay here, Hotch. Please. I have to help find him."

"We'll be just fine here. You need rest. Reid is in good hands."

"I'm not leaving."

"You're going back to the hotel. That's an order."

Morgan wanted to protest, but he knew there was no point.

"I'll have Prentiss drive you back."

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Prentiss and Morgan walked to one of the SUVs in silence. She watched Morgan climb in the passenger's side. She saw a heaviness in his steps and movements, and waited for him to climb in completely before closing his door and walking around to the driver's side. When she closed her door, she turned to Morgan.

"I know this is hard for you."

"I should have been watching him. I was right there."

"It's not your fault."

Morgan sighed, sinking into his seat.

The drive to the hotel was quiet. Prentiss wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it. She knew it was more than Morgan feeling bad for another agent. She knew this was hurting him in a way none of the others on the team felt.

When they got to the hotel, Prentiss parked the car near Morgan's door. She turned to him again.

"Look, I know," she said.

"Know what?"

"About you and Reid."

"Ah...I, uh, didn't know he told you."

"He didn't. Not really. I just guessed after I found you in the courtyard."

"Oh."

"I'm not going to tell anyone."

He nodded and looked out of the window. "Thanks."

"I just brought it up to let you know that I know this must be hard."

He moved his head in her direction, making sure not to meet her eyes.

"I'll make sure he gets home."

He nodded again and looked out of the window. "I'll see you later."

He moved to open his door.

"Ok."

Before climbing out, Morgan looked at Prentiss. His eyes were wet. "Thanks," he whispered.

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Morgan walked into his hotel room and shut the door. He waited a moment until he heard the sound of tires rolling over the gravelly parking lot and then moved to the window to see the SUV turning back onto the main road. He remembered Hotch's words in his head, _Reid is in good hands. _But Morgan knew he wouldn't be able to let this go. He opened the door of his hotel room and began walking in the direction that the SUV just travelled.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed one on his speed dial.

"Hey, baby. I heard you passed out."

"Garcia, I need your help."

"Hotch said you went back to the hotel."

"I can't stay there. I need to find him."

"Morgan, I really think you should listen to Hotch."

"Baby girl, please. I'll do this by myself if you don't want to help, but I'm going to do it."

Garcia thought for a moment. She sighed into the phone speaker. "Of course, I'll help you."

Morgan smiled on the other side. "Thanks, baby girl."

"Anytime. What do you need?"

"I need you to find out all you can about associates, friends, or anything else about Fox Mulder."

"Ok, on it. I'll call you back in a few."

Morgan hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. With the darkness surrounding him, he walked into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Reid opened his eyes to a sharp white light. He blinked and tried to move his arm to shield his eyes, but he found his wrists were tied to the surface he was lying on.

"Stop moving," he heard a voice say. In a few second he felt the pressure on his arms lighten.

He raised his hand to cover his eyes and tried to blink away the residual light in his eyesight. He sat up so his feet hung from the edge of the table.

"Who are you?" Reid asked.

"It's Scully." She was now running a hand over his arm. She pulled the arm that wasn't shielding his face and pinched the skin at the forearm near the elbow. Reid winced.

"Sorry," she said. "I think they were giving us the same protein substance that was found in the girl's system."

She bent down to meet his eyesight now. "Can you see me?"

Reid nodded. "Where are we?"

"Looks like a lab of some sort."

Reid looked around them; the room was blueish; there were countertops and a sink in the far corner, furthest away from them. There were two tables in the room. Both had IVs near them. The table opposite him also had straps. There was a door in the far corner.

"How did you get out of the straps?"

"I was close to the surgical tools." She pulled a scalpel from her pocket and flashed it to him. Then she carefully put it back in her pocket.

"Have you been awake since the forest?"

She nodded. "The sedative they gave us doesn't work as well the second time."  
He wondered what she meant. "They? Who's they?"

"We have to move quickly. Can you move?"

Reid nodded.

"Let's go." She took his hand and turned toward the door.

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Garcia hung up with Morgan. She had a monitor devoted to picking up a signal from Reid's phone, if it were to turn on again. She was also actively updating credit card purchases, straight from Reid's bank system, in hopes she would catch some clue to his whereabouts.

But for the moment, she placed the windows in another monitor, and began working within the FBI system. She searched all documents for matches to 'Fox Mulder', using every trick she could think of to find any information about him that she hadn't caught before. She didn't find much. No hiring papers. No classification information. No assignment information. But, she did find one record with his name on it.

There was a report with Mulder's name listed as one of the active agents. Scully's name was also on the report, as well as a 'Walter Skinner,' who Garcia recognized as the current director of the FBI. The rest of the document had been blacked out. No information about the case or the agents themselves, but the heading of the document came from "The desk of Assistant Director Skinner". _He must have been their A.D. at the time, _she thought to herself.

She also searched the web, but a simple google search of his name showed that Fox Mulder had stayed off the internet and shunned all social media. Then, she remembered the room in the basement. Maybe his old office had information that could help her. That could help Morgan.

She worried that leaving her desk would mean the team couldn't reach her in a critical moment, but she knew that the room in the basement might have information Morgan needed. _But how to get it unlocked?_

She pushed her chair away from her computer and stood. For a moment she was still and took a deep breath in. She knew only one person that could help her, but talking to him wouldn't be easy, especially since she would have to go over the heads of all of her bosses to get in. She walked out of her office and down the steps and through the double glass doors to the elevators. When she reached the elevator doors, she took one more deep breath in and pressed the 'up' button.

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Scully moved toward the door, with Reid close behind. She moved one hand to the door handle and reached the other into her pocket and pulled out the scalpel. Slowly she pushed the handle down and cracked the door slightly. Reid could only see her face, which was now painted with a streak of white light from the next room.

"What do you see?"

She didn't move or say anything back to him. Her eyes narrowed. Slowly, she moved the door more until the opening was about six inches wide. Reid could see only the floor near the door, which was covered in twirls of cables moving in all directions. Scully's eyes scanned the room through the narrow opening of the door.

Slowly, she moved the door open even wider. Reid watched her eyes widen as the door opened fully. He heard the scalpel hitting the floor.

Reid moved behind her to see into the room. He saw a room similar to the one they were standing in now, but smaller. There were cables and cords all over the floor, which traveled into the room through thin rectangular slots in the wall near the floor. The cords moved toward the middle of the room, where a man lay on a table. He recognized the man. _Mulder. _

He could see that the cords had been attached to Mulder's body. Reid could see there was a cord stemming from an open sore on his skin every inch or so.

He walked past Scully, further into the room, tripping over a bundle of cords as he took his first step. He stepped lightly through other bundles until he reached the exam table Mulder was lying on. Mulder's eyes were closed. He didn't seem to be moving.

There was a small stand with a monitor near Mulder's head. Most of the screen looked foreign: there were marks and symbols that no human had ever created. He noticed something at the top of the screen. There was a small line near the right corner that seemed to jump every so often.

He measured the time between jumps. _About 14 milliseconds, _he thought to himself. _He has a heartbeat._


	9. Chapter 9

Morgan's legs were tired but steadily moved him forward along the side of the road. The shock that had kept him awake earlier had worn off, and he was now physically and mentally exhausted. But his mind couldn't stop seeing Spencer's face, smiling, frowning, thinking. He could hear his voice in his head, saying, "_The first 24 hours are critical for a missing person case." _He could feel his soft hand inside his own.

He hadn't given much thought to the events in the past day. Something had changed between he and Spencer over the last few months that Derek didn't quite understand. They'd always been close, but Derek felt closer to him now more than ever, and he sensed a change in how Spencer felt toward him, too.

At first, Derek thought they were just growing into a long-term friendship, the type that would last for the rest of their lives without much effort from either of them. Spencer was his best friend, and Derek noticed that he was craving more time with Spencer. They'd started eating out together after work, and going to movies on the weekends. Things were easy with Spencer. Like best friends.

But then, Derek noticed that spending time together wasn't enough. They saw each other every day, but Derek felt something stir inside of him that left him feeling restless. He mostly felt this way when the two were apart, but he started feeling this together, too. There was a small, nascent emotion that lit near his heart when he thought about Spencer - like anger mixed with pure joy - and it had grown in the past few weeks.

He started noticing small things about Spencer that he never did before. They had been friends for ten years, but he never had noticed the way Spencer's lips curled unevenly when he smiled. He noticed how Spencer's fingers tapped when he thought: the first finger twice, then the middle two fingers, and then the last finger twice again.

When Spencer had come to Derek's room in the middle of the night, Derek's exhaustion mixed with his need to ease Spencer's fear, and before he could think, Derek had taken Reid's hand in his own. From that point, his muscles moved at the will of the unnamed emotion growing in his chest.

Suddenly, something pulled Morgan from his thoughts. Up the road, he could see two lights moving quickly in his direction. Morgan stopped moving. It was probably the team in the SUVs. But then he noticed a rounded front, and a spare tire strapped to the front of the car. He could just barely make out a "VW" insignia on front.

Morgan was stopped on the side of the road watching the car move quickly toward him. He could see it was a VW bus, and it was starting to slow down as it got closer to him. At about five feet from Morgan on the opposite side of the street, the bus slowed to a stop.

A thin man with long blonde hair and thick, black-framed glasses sat in the driver's seat. He was staring at Morgan, and moved his arm to roll down his window.

"Need a ride?" The man yelled across the street to Morgan. Morgan looked at the man and at the bus and saw two more figures sitting in the back. There was a man with red hair, cut short, and another man who was mostly bald, with grey hair on the sides. All three of them were staring at Morgan.

"Uh, I'm actually headed this way." Morgan pointed in the direction he had been walking.

"You going to the abduction site?" the man yelled back to him.

Morgan's brow furrowed. "The abduction site? Are you talking about what happened in the woods earlier?"

"Yeah, we're investigating it." The man nodded to the men in the back seat.

"What agency are you with?"

"Uh, we're kind of free agents."

Morgan was confused but tired. He wanted to get back to the site to look for Reid. "I'll take that ride," he answered walked around the bus to the passenger side. He opened the door and started to climb in, noticing that the back seat was filled with machines that looked like 90s era stereos. The bald man was wearing headphones that were plugged into one of the machines.

The blonde man waited for Morgan to close the door. "My name is Langley. This is Byers," he pointed to the red-headed man, who was wearing a suit. He nodded at Morgan. "And this is Frohike," the bald man looked up at Morgan and waved, moving his fingers into a "V" where the index and the middle finger touched and the ring finger and pinky touched. Morgan half smiled and looked back to Langley.

"Derek Morgan," he said to Langley. "Shouldn't you be going in the other direction if you want to get to the site?"

Langley laughed. "No way, man. The place is crawling with feds. We wouldn't get close. We know a back end."

"You've been there before?" Morgan was suddenly on edge. _Were they suspects?_

"Nope, but we started a chatroom with other investigators. Some locals gave us directions."

Morgan nodded. He realized these men were innocuous, and certainly didn't fit the profile of serial kidnappers and murderers.

Langley put the bus in gear, and Morgan settled into his seat as the bus moved down the long, dark road.

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Reid looked back to see Scully moving toward him. She slowly maneuvered through the cables lying on the floor and moved next to him, looking down at Mulder. Her face shuddered slightly, but she quickly composed herself. She moved her hands over his skin and began examining the sores in his body.

Years of profiling allowed Reid to see beyond her scientific stare. There was a vein at the top of her forehead that was pounding, and every so often her jaw would tighten.

After a few seconds, she saw the monitor near Mulder's head. "Is that a heartbeat?"

Reid looked down to her and nodded. The vein in her forehead relaxed.

Reid was also relieved that both Mulder and Scully were alive and that he wasn't alone in this place. But since he'd woken up, one thought kept occurring in his mind: _if he was here, where were Derek and the others?_

Thinking of the forest now felt like a dream. He could only remember snips, here and there. Light. Wind. Then, a flood of panic, though not from the scene around him; his panic started when he grabbed Derek's hand. Then, relief and joy when Derek wrapped their fingers together. The rest had been lost in his normally perfect memory.

"We need to keep moving," Scully said.

Their heads raised, looking to the opposite wall. There was someone moving.

Scully took Reid's hand. "Come on." As quickly as possible, she led them both through the bundles of cables to a door across from where they'd entered. Scully took the handle again, and slowly opened the door, checking for movement as she opened it wider, then she pulled them both through and closed the door behind them.


	10. Chapter 10

The elevator took Garcia to the top floor. When the doors opened, she walked out, head held high in the air. A woman looked up from her desk.

"Can I help you?"

Garcia didn't lower her head to look into her eyes. "I need to speak with the director."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but this is..."  
The woman cut her off before she could finish. "I'm sorry. You will need to schedule an appointment to speak with the director."

Garcia had expected this answer and now knew what she had to do. As she had imagined in her head during the elevator ride, Garcia walked past the woman sitting at the desk to the door behind her. The woman stood, shouting at Garcia to stop, but her hand was already grabbing the door knob, turning it, opening the door. A bald man was sitting at a desk. He looked up at the women who had raucously entered his office.

Garcia walked in without invitation. "Hello, sir. My name is Penelope Garcia."

"Sir, I'm sorry. I tried to stop her," the woman behind Garcia said.

He stared at Garcia, his mouth agape. After a few seconds he said, "I'm sorry. You'll need to schedule an appointment."

"I tried to tell her that, sir."

"Sir, this is important," Garcia insisted.

"I'm very busy right now. I'm sure your A.D. can handle whatever it is you need."

"I doubt it, sir. This is about Mulder and Scully." His shoulders tensed and Garcia caught the small movement. "They're in trouble, sir. And one of my team members is with them."

He took a long, slow breath, and Garcia saw an edge in his eyes. "Arlene," he looked to the woman behind Garcia. "You can go."

The woman looked to Garcia and then back to the director, then turned, walking back to her desk and closing the door behind her.

He looked into Garcia's eyes. "What's happened?"

"Mulder and Scully are missing. One of our agents - Dr. Spencer Reid - has gone missing, also."

"Where were they last seen?"  
"In a forest not too far from here. I need to get into the office in the basement to see if there is anything that can help me in there."

The director looked at Garcia again, and then turned to look out of the window. After a moment, he bent over in his chair and opened a drawer at the bottom of his desk. He pulled a small ring of keys from the drawer and held it out to her.

"Give these to no one else. Do not move anything from the room."

"Yes, sir. Thank you so much. I promise, I won't move anything." She took the keys from him and ran out the door, past the agitated secretary, to the elevator doors, and mashed the down button.

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A woman dressed in a grey pantsuit walked into an office where an older man sat at a desk, reading the paper.

"Sir, three FBI agents have gone missing." The man looked at her.

"Any leads?" He leaned back in his chair.

"No, but last month there was a rumor about an attack somewhere in the area."

"What agents?"

"Um," she opened a file folder. "SSA Dana Scully, SA Fox Mulder, retired, and a SA Spencer Reid."

"Doctor Reid," he corrected.

"You know him?" she asked, but he wasn't listening to her anymore. He was staring deeply into the space in front of him, lost in a memory. She realized he wouldn't answer her now, recognizing his deep, trademark stare.

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Hotch stood with Rossi in the forest. The local PD and canine units were scouting the nearby area, but so far nothing had been recovered.

"Has Garcia been able to track his phone?" Rossi asked him.

"No, not yet."

Rossi looked at Hotch. He was more tense than usual. "We'll find him."

Hotch nodded and the two men were quiet for a moment. "Aside from the sheriff, all of our possible suspects are FBI agents. Everyone on the team is a suspect. No one else was here."

Rossi and Hotch both knew none of the FBI agents were responsible for what happened, but they still could find no way to explain the flash and three agents' disappearance.


	11. Chapter 11

JJ rode with Prentiss as she drove one of the SUVs back to the hotel. They'd been ordered by Hotch to take the first shift off. They'd sleep while Rossi and Hotch would keep searching for the missing agents, and then switch in the morning. JJ was staring through the window at the dark road.

She took a deep, shaky breath. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

Emily turned to her for a moment, giving her a soft smile and then turned back to the road. "We'll find him. I'm sure of it."

It was quiet for the rest of the drive. Finally, they turned into the hotel parking lot and parked.

"I'm going to check on Morgan," Prentiss said. "Do you want me to get you in the morning?"

JJ nodded at her and got out of the SUV, walking to her hotel room. Prentiss climbed out of the car, slowly. She was exhausted from the events of the day. She walked over to Morgan's door and knocked lightly, not wanting to wake him if he'd been able to fall asleep. She waited for a moment, but there was no answer. She was surprised that he would be able to sleep after today. _Or maybe he's in the shower? _Something didn't feel right. She knocked a little louder than before. Again, no answer. She peaked into the window but the curtains were drawn. _It doesn't seem like Morgan to sleep at a time like this. _She checked the door, but without the key it wouldn't open. She turned around to look at the parking lot. _Should I check the sheriff's station?_

She heard one of the hotel's doors opening.

"Prentiss?" JJ called out to her.

Prentiss waved. "He's not answering," pointing her thumb to Morgan's door.

"He's probably just asleep."

Prentiss smiled to her.

"We should probably try to get some sleep, too."

Prentiss looked back to the door, and sighed. Then, she turned and walked toward her own hotel room.

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Garcia turned the key in the lock and heard it click. She opened the door. For a moment she stood there, taking it in. There was a desk in the corner, covered in case files. Surrounding the walls were filing cabinets five drawers high, but each had files stacked on top of the cabinets. Some of the drawers were open and papers and folders were sticking out. There was a visible dust swimming through the air, like no one had breathed it for some time.

"Oh my.." she muttered to herself, stepping into the room.

She worried that rummaging through this might take more time than she could offer. She walked to the desk, and reached down to look at the files. She moved some of them off to the side and saw sitting beneath the files was a map. She cleared the desk so she could see it clearly.

It was a road map of Virginia. Several spots had been marked with an "X," but they were not areas of any significance. There was one in the middle of a long stretch of highway. Several were not even near the roads, and some were in forests or on lake fronts. There were lines extending from each of them that ended in a "O". Each set of X's and O's were several inches apart from the other. She turned the map to see the back. She noticed a key had been written in the margins:

X - PICK-UPS

O - DROP OFFS

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Langley, Byers, Frohike, and Morgan rode a little further down the main road before turning on an unlit, gravel road. Langley turned to look at Morgan.

"Nervous?" he asked Morgan.

Morgan looked at the man. "Uh, no," he answered. "I just want to get to the site."

The road was uneven, and the van rose and fell heavily with each bump in the road. After about five minutes of driving, Langley pulled the van to the side and turned the car off.

He turned to the two men in the back. "Ready guys?"

Byers was studying a physical map in his lap. "We're going to be moving approximately a quarter mile North by Northwest." He looked up to three men who were staring at him. "That way," he said and pointed toward the direction.

"I'm picking up a lot of electromagnetic activity," Frohike added.

Langley reached down by Byers' feet and grabbed a bag. He unzipped it and pulled out three flashlights. "Let's go then," he said and a smile spread across his face.

The four men climbed out of the van and gathered at the start of the forest next to the road.

Byers, Frohike, and Langley turned on their flashlights. Byers looked down again to the map in his other hand, shinning it with his flashlight. He nodded. "This way."

They started walking in the direction Byers pointed, with Morgan following Langley and Byers beside him. Frohike walked a couple paces behind with a small device in the hand that didn't hold the flashlight. The device was beeping in short intervals.

"The electromagnetism is off the charts," he called to the other three men.

The forest was dark; Morgan was having trouble seeing in front of him and walking without tripping over roots and sticks.

"Whoa," Langley stopped and the rest of the men stopped behind him.

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked him, his hand moving to the butt of the gun in his side holster.

"I saw something," he nodded his head, "over there."

The three men followed his gaze. Morgan couldn't make out much; the forest was nearly pitch black, but he could make out the outlines of some trees a few feet in front of them.

"I don't see anything," Morgan said, squinting.

And then, there was a collective gasp among the four men. The outlines of the trees in front of them seemed to ripple, as if the scene in front of them were made of water.

"I don't like this, man," Frohike said from behind Morgan. He seemed to have moved behind him, so Morgan was blocking him from the scene. Langley was also backing up and Morgan reached his arm out pushed the three men behind him. He removed his gun from his holster and pointed it in front of him.

"Maybe we should go back," Byers whispered.

"Shh," Morgan whispered. Again the tree line rippled, but this time there seemed to be a long vertical tear in the picture before them, and Morgan saw a flash of red. Then, the rippling stopped but he could see the faint outline of something new among the trees. There was a man.

"FBI. DON'T MOVE," Morgan yelled to the figure standing before him.

"FBI, you didn't say you were a fed!" Frohike said from behind Morgan. They were now huddled at his back.

"Shut up, guys," Morgan whispered between his teeth at them. "PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND SLOWLY WALK FORWARD," he yelled again at the figure.

The figure in front of them moved his hands quickly in the air, and started walking forward. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" he yelled to Morgan, but his voice did not sound worried. "I'm also FBI." The figure moved closer to Morgan.

"What's your name?" Morgan yelled, still holding his gun in position.

The figure stopped for a moment. "My name is Special Agent Dale Cooper. Pleased to meet you."


	12. Chapter 12

Reid closed the door behind him and moved next to Scully. They were on a platform that bended around a circular room. The wall was lined with doors like the one they'd just exited. About ten feet from where they stood was a small staircase descending into a smaller room with computer monitors that flashed foreign words and symbols.

But Reid and Scully noticed none of this.

On the wall opposite them that connected the room with the platform to the room beneath them was a screen at least thirteen feet high and almost twice as wide. On it was projected the night sky, but Reid realized the prospective was one not visible from anywhere on earth.

Reid looked at the brightest orb in the middle of the screen. "That's..."

"Our sun," Scully finished.

"Welcome back, Dr. Scully." Scully and Reid looked down to the room at the bottom of the staircase where they'd heard the noise. There were two people wearing long robes, standing at the bottom of the stairs staring up at them. There was a taller male wearing a long blue robe and a shorter female wearing a pink robe. Their faces were white with strong features and both had short, dark hair. Reid noticed their eyebrows which didn't arch like he was used to seeing. "And welcome home, Dr. Reid," the man said.

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Garcia took pictures with her cell and put the map back on the desk. She pulled the keys that Director Skinner had given her from her pocket and walked to the hallway, closing the door and locking it again. She walked to the elevator and pressed the up button.

On the elevator ride up, she pulled her phone from her pocket again and uploaded the photos of the map to her cloud account. When she saw the confirmation that the pictures had uploaded, she deleted them from her local storage, and dialed Morgan's cell.

There was no answer. She hung up and dialed again.

She still held the phone up to her ear as she made her way into the BAU and up to her office. As she walked in she heard her office phone ringing and quickly hung up her cell and ran to her phone to answer.

"Garcia here."

"Garcia," Hotch's voice sounded tired. "Any updates on Reid's phone?"

"Uh," she sat at her desk and opened some windows. "No, still nothing."

"Ok, I have cell numbers for Scully and Mulder that you can track, too."

Hotch gave Garcia the numbers and she began searching for the cell signals. "Nothing," she told him after a few seconds.

"Keep searching, and update us as soon as you find anything."

"Will do." She hung up the phone and moved the windows from her main monitor to another monitor on the side of her. She opened a browser and navigated to her cloud storage and logged in. After logging in she read:

0 MG of storage used

All the breath in her lungs seemed to escape. She searched for the file names. Nothing. She logged out and back in, but the usage still read: 0 MG of storage used. She looked at the log of user logins. She saw her own IP, but there was one IP she didn't recognize.

She copied it from the log and searched for information on it. She found its geographic information:

Country: United States

State: Virginia

City: Langley

She got up from her desk, grabbing the keys to the basement office and ran back through the BAU to the elevators. When she reached the basement floor, she pulled out the keys again and slipped the key into the deadbolt lock.

This time, the key didn't fit.

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"Let me see your credentials," Morgan yelled to the figure in front of him.

"Ok, I'm going to pull them from my front pocket." The man moved slowly with his palms still facing outward. He moved his right hand into his jacket and pulled a small booklet. He flipped it open. Morgan, still with his gun pointed at the man, reached out and grabbed the booklet from him.

Morgan lowered his gun and holstered it. He looked up to the man. "How did you get here?"

Cooper smiled at him. "Agent, uh?"

"Derek Morgan."

"Agent Morgan, do you believe in the fantastic?"

"What?"

"I've experienced something fantastic out here in the woods."

Morgan just looked at the man. He turned to look at the three men behind him. They were huddled together, staring.

"Who are your friends?" Cooper asked.

The three men perked up. "Langley," the blond man said, and held out his hand to Cooper. "This is Byers and Frohike. We're writers for the Lone Gunmen."

"Wonderful to meet you all," Cooper said. He turned back to Morgan. "Do you mind if I stick around with you? I think I've had enough of being on my own for one night."

"We're headed up to a crime scene."

Cooper nodded. "I'd be happy to assist."

Morgan hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Sure."

"Great!" Cooper said and smiled at the group of men.

The four men looked to Morgan to lead them the rest of the way. Morgan looked at the group of men, then turned back to the direction they'd been headed, and led the group through the dark woods.


	13. Chapter 13

The old man sat alone at his desk, reading papers in front of him. He leaned back in his chair and relaxed, picking up the coffee mug from his desk and taking a long, slow sip. After a moment, there was a knock at his door.

"Come in."

The door opened and a young woman entered. "Sir, we found the pictures you wanted."

"And the originals?"

"Gone, sir." The old man motioned for her to sit. She moved and sat down across from the old man.

"Where is the next drop off?"

"We believe 38°N by 77°W"

He nodded once, slowly. "Do we have any idea when?"

"I had an agent go over and look through the other files once we found the map. Based on the information found, we believe the drop off will happen between midnight and 6 a.m."

"That's if Dr. Reid doesn't figure out how to get away first." He smiled to himself. The woman laughed at the comment. He looked to the woman and his smile faded. She stopped laughing. "I'd like a team there to pick them up."

The woman nodded.

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_Please pick up, please pick up. _Garcia had called Morgan three times since she'd left the basement office for the second time. The phone kept ringing and ringing. _He must not have service. _

The voicemail message started again. She decided to leave a message this time.

"Hey, Derek. It's me. I, um, I had some good news for you earlier, but, um, there's some weird stuff going on here. Please call me when you get this. I'm still working on finding that information for you. Please call me back. Love you."

She hung up the phone, and put it down on her desk, hoping for a call from Morgan, and desperately thinking of what to do next.

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Hotch and Rossi were exhausted but continued walking the hills of the forest with the local police, searching for any traces of the three lost people. They'd walked concentric circles starting at the crime scene and moving out almost a mile but still had found nothing. The locals were still roaming the forest with the K-9s when the two senior FBI agents decided to walk back to the SUV and switch shifts with Prentiss and JJ at the hotel. As they neared the car, a light flashed between the tall trees. Both men stopped walking to look.

They spotted the light again. Headlights. There was a car nearing them on the road they now stood.

"Is that Prentiss and JJ?" Rossi asked Hotch.

He looked closer to see if he could make out the plates. "It's a black SUV, but I don't know if it's the bureau's."

Slowly, the car made the final turn onto the road. Hotch could see the car clearly now.

"That's not the FBI."

"I think we might have lost our jurisdiction," Rossi said to Hotch. Both men recognized the emblem on the side of the car.

The SUV stopped in front of the men. A man opened the driver's side door and climbed out. He was dressed in a black suit.

The man closed the door to the car and walked over to the two agents. "SSA Rossi? SSA Hotchner?"

Hotch nodded. "That's us."

The man smiled at them. "My name is Danny Galvez. I'm an operations officer. I'd like to thank you for your time here. We will be taking over the investigation from here."

Hotch knew not to argue with the man, but he couldn't give up the investigation of one of his team members so easily. "Three FBI agents have gone missing. I think the FBI is best suited for the case. Is this really a matter for the CIA?"

The man stopped smiling. He looked at Rossi and then back to Hotch. "We have reason to believe this abduction has international consequences."

Hotch looked to Rossi.

"Again, I'd like to thank you for your work here so far. I promise your team is in the best of hands now."

The man turned back to the SUV and waved his hand. A group of men exited the car and began walking toward the crime scene. Galvez walked to the FBI SUV behind the two agents and opened the driver's door.

The men looked back at him. "I can have one of my agents escort you if you'd like."

Hotch looked at the man, and shook his head. The two agents walked toward the man and clambered into the black SUV, and then rode back to the hotel in silence.


	14. Chapter 14

"Welcome back?" Reid's words were a whisper. The two figures began climbing the stairs toward Reid and Scully. Scully took a half step in front of Reid and put her hand down near her pocket, pulling out the small scalpel.

"Dr. Scully. Put the knife away," the man's words were soft but assertive as he and the woman ascended the staircase. Scully paused before slipping the scalpel back into her pocket, but she kept her place, slightly in front of Reid.

The two figures walked until they were facing the two doctors. The man looked at Reid in the eyes. "You're everything we hoped for," the man whispered to Reid. He raised his hand to Reid's check and softly touched his jaw. Reid pulled his head back from the touch.

"Who are you?" Reid asked the man.

"I am Soval." He motioned to the woman. "This is T'Pol."

"What are you?" Scully asked the two people. Both figures were looking at Reid and did not move their gaze when she spoke to them. Finally, the man looked down to Scully.

"We are Vulcans." He turned around to face the screen that projected the image of the sun. The woman turned around with him. "We have been watching the earth."

"Watching?"

The two turned back to Reid. "Yes, we search the galaxy for other intelligent life." He met Reid's gaze. "In some cases, we help the race advance."

"What did you mean by 'welcome back'?" Reid asked him.

The man turned away again and walked forward toward a railing. "We have been watching the earth for sometime now. We try to stay out of the way. However, some of our research hasn't gone unnoticed."

Reid's head was spinning. "What do you mean? Like Roswell or something?"

The man nodded. "Like I said, sometimes our research generates attention." He turned again toward the screen on the wall. "We started working with the American government shortly after that. Doing experiments between our races."

"What kind of experiments?" Scully demanded.

The man looked to Scully. "We were interested in seeing the reproductive compatibility of our races."

All of them were silent for a moment. Finally, Scully asked "And? What happened?"

The man looked to Reid again. "Dr. Reid happened."

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"Fox," a voice floated through the air to his ears. It was light and soft, like a young girl's. "Fox" it sang out again.

Mulder looked down to his were small, the hands of a child. His fingers were intertwined with blades of glass. His knobby, small knees were pulled up near him. The sun was shining on the pale skin of his legs.

"Fox!" the voice was nearer now and he looked up to see he was in a park, surrounded by grass and trees. A girl ran up to him and dropped to her knees beside him.

"Why didn't you answer me, Fox?" He just looked into the face of the young girl beside him. Tears lined the bottom of his eyes.

She noticed his staring. "What are you looking at?" He didn't answer, again, just stared. "Are you crying?" She moved her hand to his cheek and rubbed the her thumb on his skin a few times. She smiled at him and then moved to lay down in the grass beside him.

"I hope we never grow up, Fox."

He slowly moved his hand from the grass and reached out to touch the hair of the girl next to him. He ran his hand over her hair and she looked up to him.

"Do you love me, Fox?"

His lips parted slowly and he tried talking. Very breathily he let out, "Yes, Samantha."

"I love you, too, Fox. Even though you annoy me sometimes." She smiled up to him and he let out a laugh. She moved her head to look forward again.

Together, they sat in the grass, letting the white sun light shine down on them.

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Hotch and Rossi pulled into the hotel parking lot, spotting JJ and Prentiss loading into the second SUV. The girls paused as they saw the car pull next to them. The SUV stopped and two men climbed out of the SUV.

Rossi spoke first. "Go back to bed."

"What?" Prentiss called over to him, confused that she hadn't heard him correctly.

Hotch made his way around the car from the driver's seat, and JJ walked near the group to hear what they were saying. "It's not our case anymore," Hotch said to Prentiss, but he didn't met any of the other team member's gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"The CIA has taken over."

"The CIA?" JJ asked.

Hotch nodded. "And until we can find a way to investigate this without the CIA cutting us off, we need to get some sleep. We can regroup in the morning."

Prentiss and JJ looked at each other and then to Rossi. He gave them a small smile and then dropped his head to the ground.

"Have you told Morgan?" Prentiss asked him. "He's not going to like this, Hotch."

"I'm going to go tell him right now."

The three turned away from Hotch and went back to their rooms and Hotch began walking to Morgan's door. He knocked softly, but there was no answer.

He knocked a little louder. Again, there was no answer. Hotch pulled the extra keys from his jacket pocket and sifted through them, finding Morgan's room key.

He put the key into the lock and opened Morgan's door. He spotted the bed first, noticing the sheets hadn't been touched. The bathroom door was open and there was no one inside.

He turned back to the parking lot and saw the other three were about to enter their

rooms. "STOP," he yelled across the parking lot, and they turned to look at the unit chief, who

was now running toward them. "HE'S GONE."


	15. Chapter 15

Reid stood with his mouth agape, unmoving. Scully reached her arm out to him, rubbing her hand along his arm. Soval looked to the screen for a moment, and then back to the two agents.

"It's time for you to go."

"Go where?" Scully demanded, stepping in front of Spencer.

"We were never going to keep you here, Dr. Scully," he said. "We have everything we need from you. You're going back home."

"And what about Mulder?"

Soval met her eyes. "He will be staying with us for a little bit longer."

Scully took another step forward. She looked up and whispered to the two Vulcans, "I'm not going anywhere without Mulder."

"That can be arranged," T'Pol told her.

Scully looked to Reid and they exchanged a worried look before T'Pol moved toward Scully and motioned her hand to lead her through one of the many doors along the hallway. Reid heard two women move and the door open and close, and only he and Soval were left in the big room.

Reid looked back to Soval. "What will happen to them?"

"They will be safe here."

Reid nodded and Soval took a step back from him, raising his head slightly. "Prepare transport for Dr. Reid."

Reid felt a warm light shine down on him from above and his arms and legs felt lighter.

"Goodbye, Dr. Reid," Soval said to him.

Reid looked down to his hands and saw that they were almost transparent. The light around him became whiter and Reid could no longer see the ship or Soval. He felt light, as if he were floating in a pool. He felt his body relax and everything went black.

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Morgan held his flashlight to guide him through the forest as Cooper, Frohike, Langley, and Byers followed closely behind him. Frohike was still holding the small, beeping machine that, in short intervals, broke the silence that hung among the five men.

After a few more steps, Morgan stepped through a row of trees and stopped, looking in on a small clearing. Cooper stopped next to him on his right side, as Langley, Byers, and Frohike lined up on the other side.

"Why'd we stop?" Langley asked him. They followed Morgan's gaze. He was squinting at the other side of the clearing.

The men heard the beeping of Frohike's machine speed up. "I'm getting huge electromagnetic activity over here," he said.

"Shh," Morgan told them. "I think I saw something."

Cooper looked across the clearing with Morgan. After a few seconds, both of the agents eyes widened. "Flashlights," Cooper whispered, and turned to look to Morgan. He nodded at Cooper.

Morgan's hand moved to his holstered weapon.

The other men noticed the flashes of light on the other side of the clearing past the line of trees. They were moving closer to the edge of the clearing. Morgan brought his weapon from its holster and handed his flashlight to Langley.

"What are we gonna do, man?" Langley whispered to Morgan.

"Just stay here."

They all stood still as they watched the flashes of light get closer to the edge of trees. Finally, one of the flashlights breached the clearing, and soon after three more followed, lining up on the edge of the clearing.

Cooper brought his own gun from its holster and stood ready with Morgan. "There's four of them. If they're all armed, we're outnumbered."

Morgan gave him a quick look, but didn't say anything. They stood watching the lights. They weren't moving forward or side to side. They stood, waiting.

Morgan looked to Cooper again. "Should we," he started, but, before he could finish his thought to Cooper, a beam of light flashed down from the sky to the middle of the clearing. The light from the beam lit the entire clearing as if it were midday, and Morgan could make out the men on the other side of the clearing wore similar black suits. There was a burst of wind that blew all of the men back a step and then the light flashed a burning white light and disappeared.

Morgan blinked a few times to regain his sight, and looked back to the center of the clearing. It was dark again, but he could faintly make out a black figure lying on the ground. Then, his heart stopped as he saw the men in black suits had a head start running toward the figure on the ground.

Before thinking, Morgan was running toward the figure as fast as his legs would move. He could see the other men, and he realized he might have a chance of beating them. He looked back to the figure on the ground, realizing as he grew closer to it that he recognized who it was.

"REID," Morgan shouted and the trees seemed to shake from his intensity. He was hoping the younger agent would hear him, wake up, and run to him, away from the men in suits, who were now closer than Morgan, who were grabbing the young agent off the ground, and who were now hoisting him onto one of the men's shoulders. Morgan slowed to a stop as two of the men shielded the man who was now carrying Reid on his shoulders back to the edge of the clearing. Both men were facing Morgan with guns pointed.

Morgan held his palms up to the men. "WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?" he demanded. The men said nothing to him. Morgan walked closer to them. He saw the man holding Reid enter the edge of the forest behind them. Both of them still had their guns pointed to him. _One carrying Reid,_ he thought, _and two facing me. Where was the fourth?_

The last thing he felt was a sharp pain on the back of his head before everything went black.

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The old man was sitting at his desk, looking through an old case file, when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The young woman opened the door, sticking her head through. "I just want to let you know he's here."

"Thank you. I'll be right there."

The young woman nodded and closed the door again. The old man closed the casefile and stood from his chair, fixing his tie and shirt before moving around his desk to the door. He walked from his office down the hallway where a man stood waiting for him.

"Hello, sir."

The old man nodded at him. "Is he in room 1?"

"Yes, sir. And, um," the man stopped for a moment and looked away. The old man's stare could be intimidating. "We had a problem at the drop off spot. There was another man there. We've had to bring him in, as well."

The old man was silent for a few seconds. "Where is he?"

"Room 2, sir."

The old man nodded. "I'll go there first." He walked around the man in the hallway to a door on the left side of the hall. He walked into a small room with a window that looked into another room. The old man heard the man follow him into the room, and they both looked at the man sitting on the other side of the window.

"Do you know him, sir?"

The old man nodded. "Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan," he said. He smiled and looked to the man next to him. "I'm not at all surprised he fought you for Dr. Reid."


	16. Chapter 16

Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss, and JJ were gathered in JJ's hotel room. Hotch and Rossi sat on the edge of the bed as JJ and Emily stood over the two men. The women and Rossi waited as Hotch talked to Garcia on his cell.

"The minute you find activity from either of their phones, call me." Hotch moved the phone from his ear and ended the call. He put his head in hands and sat silently.

"We'll find them," JJ said.

"This night just keeps getting worse and worse," Hotch said to himself. "We can't even go back to the crime scene because the CIA is there." Everyone was silent for a moment. Hotch looked to Prentiss. "You're sure there was nothing in Morgan's room?"

She nodded. "We searched everything."

"Maybe he just went for a walk. It's been a rough night for him," Rossi offered. "There's nothing we can do. We all need some sleep."

Hotch sighed and nodded. "Garcia is working on it. We'll regroup in the morning."

They moved, silently, each going to his own room, knowing it would be a restless night.

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"Are you going to talk to him?"

The old man shook his head. "Not yet. I want to see Dr. Reid."

The two men exited the room and moved down the hallway to the door marked 'Room 1'. They walked into another small room with a window looking into another room. This time, Spencer was on the other side of the window, lying on a couch in the far side of the room. There was small table between the couch and the window and two small chairs at the table.

"Are you going to talk to him?"

The old man shook his head again. "I think you should talk to him, first. See what he remembers."

The man nodded and walked to a door that adjoined the two rooms. He walked through and the old man watched as Reid's head turned to watch the man enter.

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"Dr. Reid?"

Spencer looked at the man who entered the small room with him. He was average height, plain looking, maybe of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean descent, wearing a suit.

"My name is Danny Galvez. Can we talk?"

Spencer moved so he was sitting on the couch. "Where am I?"

"We'll get to that, Dr. Reid." Danny walked to the table and pulled out one of the chairs. He held out his hand to the other side of the table. "Please," he said, inviting Spencer to sit with him.

Spencer moved to the table and sat across from Danny. "Where am I?" he asked again.

Danny just smiled at Spencer. "How are you feeling?"

Spencer looked at the man for a moment. "My head hurts."

Danny smiled. "I'll see if they can get you something for that." He paused and both men sat looking at each other for a moment. "So, Dr. Reid, what do you remember about the last couple of days?"

Spencer furrowed his brow. "Have I been arrested?"

"No."

"Where am I?"

"I just want to know about the last few days."

"I need to contact my team. I work for the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI."

"I know, Dr. Reid."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Danny."

"Don't give me that bullshit. Who do you work for?"

"Dr. Reid, I need you to answer the question."

Spencer stood up from the table. His breathing grew faster. "I am a federal officer."

"I know, Dr. Reid."

Spencer looked to the mirror behind Danny. "Who's watching us?" He walked to the mirror and Danny stood up, reaching to stop Spencer from moving closer, but Spencer was too fast, and had his hands cupped over his eyes to look through the glass. He froze.

"Gideon?" he breathed.


	17. Chapter 17

The old man waited on the other side of the glass. He watched as Danny Galvez moved from the table and walked back to the door, unlocking it with a set of keys, and walked back to meet him.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said. "He moved too fast for me to stop him. But, I don't think he knew you, sir. He called you Gideon."

The old man didn't look to Danny. "I want you to go talk to Agent Morgan. I'll take it from here." Danny looked to the old man but didn't say anything. The old man waited to hear him leave the room. Then, he walked to the door and entered the room, where he saw Spencer, standing on the opposite side of the table watching him.

Neither man talked for a moment.

Spencer broke the silence first. "What the hell is going on, Gideon?"

The old man smiled and moved toward the table, sitting. He motioned for Spencer to join him.

"I'm fine here."

"Please, Spencer. Sit."

Spencer moved and sat across from him at the table. "I thought you were dead."

"I didn't make it easy to be found."

"Garcia couldn't find any records on you after you left. Your accounts were frozen."

The old man nodded. "I guess I owe you an explanation."

Spencer just sat, staring wild-eyed at the man he thought he'd never see again.

"I was approached after our work at Guantanamo."

"By?"

The old man smiled, but didn't answer him. "The work required that I make a clean break from you and the rest of the team."

Spencer looked to him. "Gideon, we were…"

"It's Saul."

"What?"

"It's Saul now. Saul Berenson. That's why you couldn't find me."

Spencer didn't answer, but looked to the man waiting for him to continue.

"Berenson is my mother's maiden name. Saul is my father's middle name."

"But, why?"

"I realized, after Guantanamo, the scale we were working on was so limited. I thought I could do more good here." Saul shrugged and met Spencer's gaze for a moment before dropping his eyesight again.

"I trusted you."

"I know. I'm sorry that you were hurt."

Spencer was breathing quickened. "I want to leave," he said through a clenched jaw.

"I need to know what you remember."

Spencer didn't let his eyes waiver. He knew he was dealing with one of the best profilers in the world. "I fell in the forest. I remember lights," he continued his lie. "I remember Derek," he shook his head, "Morgan yelling my name. That's it."

Saul looked at him for a moment. "Spencer…"

"That's all, _Saul_."

Saul looked at Spencer again, and nodded, recognizing his loss. He got up from the table and walked toward the door. Before leaving, he turned back to Spencer. "Agent Morgan is here."

Spencer looked up to Saul. "I want to see him."

Saul nodded. "I'll bring him to you." He unlocked the door and left, leaving Spencer alone once again.

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"I AM A FEDERAL OFFICER," Derek yelled at the man standing over him.

"We could keep you for obstructing a federal investigation, Agent Morgan."

"It was you who kidnapped a federal officer! Where is he, by the way?" Derek was growing tired of the back and forth between him and the interrogator. "Look, you need to contact Aaron Hotchner, if you want me to talk to you any further."

The man just laughed and sat down across the table from Morgan. The door beside them opened and an old man looked into the room.

"Galvez, you can leave." Danny stood and walked to the door where the old man whispered something to him.

Derek was speechless at he saw the man standing at the door. Saul came into the room and stood across from Derek.

"What the fuck?" Derek finally said.

"Look, I don't have time to explain, Derek," Saul said to him.

"Where is Spencer?"

"He's here. I'm going to get both of you back to the BAU. You need to follow me."

Derek nodded and Saul led him to a door in the back of the room, opposite where he'd entered. Saul unlocked it and led Derek into a hallway, and they walked to the end to the elevator doors. Saul pressed the down button.

Derek looked at him while they waited for the elevators. He knew the older man wouldn't give him an explanation now even if he asked. "You really hurt him, you know," he finally settled on saying.

"I know," the old man nodded. The elevator doors opened and the two of them entered the elevator. Saul pressed the button for the basement, and the two men rode down in silence.

Finally, as the elevator neared its stop, the old man spoke. "There will be a car in 10 minutes to pick you up. Spencer will meet you here, soon."

Derek nodded. The elevator doors opened to a parking garage and he stepped out. He looked back to Gideon. "It's good to know you're ok."

Gideon smiled, and the doors closed between them. Derek looked around him, but he was alone. He walked a few steps and took a seat on the curb. After a few moments, the elevator doors opened again, and he could see Danny Galvez standing with Spencer. Spencer walked out of the elevators and spotted Derek.

Derek stood up from the curb and ran over to Spencer, wrapping him in a hug. Spencer wrapped his arms around Derek's neck.

"I'm so glad you're ok," Derek whispered in Spencer's ear.

Spencer let out a deep sigh buried his face in the other agent's neck. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too."

The two let each other go and stood silently for a moment. Every once in a while they would meet each other's eyes and smile. After a few moments, they could hear movement nearing them. A black SUV pulled near them and the two agents walked to the second door.

Derek opened the door and Spencer climbed into the car first. Derek climbed after him and noticed a partition between the driver and the passenger's seats. The car pulled away and the two agents sat quietly. Derek looked over to Spencer. He was looking out of the window with his hand rested on the seat next to him. Derek reached over to hold his hand, and Spencer turned to look at him. Spencer smiled at him and laced their fingers together, and then turned back to the window.


	18. just a dream

Garcia looked to her screen, desperate to see any indication of Reid or Morgan's cell phone activity, but she felt her eyelids growing heavy. She decided just to close her eyes for a moment; she turned the volume up, so if either of their phones turned back on, she'd hear the notification sound. Then, she closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of her chair, and quickly fell asleep.

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"I wonder where they're taking us," Spencer said as he continued looking out of the window. Derek hadn't been interested in anything outside the car; he was looking at Spencer. Their hands were still linked on the seat between them. Spencer turned his head to look at Morgan. "You're watching me."

Derek smiled. "No I'm not," but Derek didn't look away from Spencer.

Spencer smiled at him and blushed, then looked out the window again. "I think they're taking us back to Quantico."

"I guess we should call the team." Derek moved to look for his phone.

"I didn't even think of that," Spencer also moved for his phone.

"I can't find mine."

"Me neither. I guess Gideon, uh Saul, has them."

"Saul?" Derek asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Maybe he called called Hotch for us."

The car moved along the highway until the Quantico building came into view. They rode to the entrance and the car stopped. Spencer and Derek climbed out of the car. Almost as they closed their doors, the SUV was moving away from the men, back out to the highway.

The two men walked into the FBI building and to the elevators, up to the their floor. When they reached the BAU, the men entered the bullpen, looking for their team, but quickly realized they were alone. Spencer followed Derek, who was walking toward Garcia's office. The two men entered, and watched for a moment as Penelope lay sleeping in her chair.

Derek walked over to her and bent down on his haunches. "Penelope," he whispered and moved his hand to her arm. "Wake up," he whispered again, shaking her arm. "Wake up."

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"Wake up."

Spencer moved his head. He couldn't open his eyes.

"Wake up, Pretty Boy," Spencer heard again.

"Ugh," Spencer managed. Finally, he opened his eyes, seeing only white light at first. He blinked a few times and more came into view. He was in a small room, and he was lying down, looking at the ceiling. He heard beeping. He could see Morgan looking down at him.

"Finally. How ya feeling, kid?"

"What?"

"You've been in the hospital for a week."

Spencer furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about? We were in Garcia's office."

Morgan laughed. "Not for 3 weeks, kid. We were in L. A. working a case for 2 weeks. And then you got shot as we were getting the unsub. So, I stayed with you here for the past week."

Spencer shook his head. "But what about the case in Virginia? The girls with the bumps, in the forest?"

"We haven't had a case in Virginia in over a year, Reid." Reid looked up to Morgan. "You ok, kid?"

Reid looked away from Morgan and nodded his head slowly.

"The doc is letting you go today. Hotch sent the jet to take us back to Virginia. The team is waiting for us at Quantico" Morgan got up from Reid's bed. "Your clothes are over by the window. I'll give you a few to get dressed."

Morgan walked from the room, and Reid sat for a moment, trying to remember his dream.

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The two men entered the jet waiting for them. Morgan sat at the table and Reid sat on the couch, lying his head on the armrest.

The pilot opened the door to the cockpit and looked out at the two men. "You guys ready?" he yelled to them.

"Yep," Morgan replied, and the pilot closed the cockpit door again, leaving the two men alone. The jet began to move and Spencer felt as it lifted them into the air, carrying them back home.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah kid?"

"I had a dream while I was in the hospital."

"Oh, yeah? What was it about?"

"It was weird. It had the cast of X-files, and Star Trek, and bunch of other things I can't really remember now."

Derek laughed. "Sounds like a weird dream."  
"Yeah. But there was one really weird part. It was about you and me, and.." before Spencer could finish the jet jumped and the two men grabbed their seats. "What was that?"

Morgan looked at him. "Looks like we hit a little turbulence."

The men settled back again. The plane jumped again, this time the cockpit door popped open. Spencer heard the machinery in the cockpit beeping. The pilot was talking over his head set. The plane began shaking heavily. The pilot turned back to the two men. "Put on your seatbelts!" he yelled to them.

Derek looked to Spencer and grabbed his hand and pulled him from the couch and pushed him into the seat across from him.

The plane continued to shake.

"We're going to make an emergency landing!" the pilot yelled again, and he pulled the door to the cockpit closed.

Spencer looked in Derek's eyes. They were both breathing heavily and looked at each other with worry.

"Derek," Spencer started.

"Don't. We're going to be fine."  
"Derek, there's something I need to tell you." The plane shook again and the men were thrown to the right.

Derek looked back at Spencer. "Spencer…"

"Derek, please. I need to tell you," Spencer reached out his hand to Derek and Derek moved to take it.

"Spencer, we're going to be fine."

The plane rocked up and down.

"Derek, I need to tell you that," Spencer looked into Derek's eyes. "I'm in love with you."

The plane shook again and the men were thrown left and right. Then, the movement stopped, and the plane evened its flight path.

The door to the cockpit opened and the pilot leaned his body to the two men. "We got through it! We're going to be ok!" The pilot turned back and closed the door, leaving the two men alone once again.


End file.
